The Saudi Professional Football League dominated the “Thinking Football” summit, in the second edition of the event, which was organized by the Portuguese League in Porto during the period from September 7 to 9, amid discussions about the excellence shown by the Saudis in the summer transfer market. Which concluded at dawn on Friday.
For his part, Al-Nasr coach Luis Castro, Gulf coach Pedro Emmanuel, and Gulf player Fabio Martinez praised the amazing development that Saudi football has been experiencing in the recent period, during their speech at the “Thinking Football” summit.
The presenter of the sports conference spoke about the huge shift that Saudi football has recently experienced, confirming that the Saudi transfer market has witnessed a great boom during the past few days, after signing a large number of stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Neymar, Marcelo Brozovic, Otavio, and Robben. Neves, et al.
The contracts with coaches and players showed a large presence of Portuguese in the Saudi League, such as Luis Castro, the coach of the Al-Nasr team, and Pedro Emmanuel, the coach of the Gulf team, in addition to Fabio Martinez, who shines remarkably in the Gulf ranks, so the trio talked about the great football growth in the Kingdom and the clear development. For the Saudi Professional League, during the huge sports conference in Portugal.
For his part, Gulf coach Pedro Emanuel said that Saudi football is experiencing amazing development, and he is completely convinced that the current football season will be different in everything, with the influx of big stars into the league, while Fabio Martinez said that he came to the Kingdom more than 3 years ago. Then, he noticed a real improvement at the level of professionalism, showing great happiness in playing in a tournament that includes stars the size of Sadio Mane, Cristiano Ronaldo, and the rest.
Luis Castro returned to saying that he had a wonderful opportunity to be in a league that includes such a large number of stars such as Ronaldo, Neymar, Savic and others, especially after his success in the Brazilian experience with Botafago, so his decision was correct to accept the Al-Nasr coaching job and go to the Saudi League.
Castro continued his speech by stressing that everyone in Saudi Arabia seeks to develop, and there is great support from decision-makers in cooperating with those in charge of football management. Regarding the comparisons between Saudi Arabia and countries such as China and America in football, Luis Castro downplayed the impact of these comparisons, explaining that each country has its own characteristics, and what is happening in the Kingdom represents a challenge and a clear-cut strategy that relies on a strong foundation, which is society’s passion for football for many decades and not a surprise.
Pedro Emmanuel spoke again about the increase in the number of professionals in the Saudi League, noting that the number of foreigners has become greater compared to his first period in Saudi Arabia, stressing the importance of the great passion of the Saudi fans who love football and live it daily, through their presence in the stadiums and training headquarters. Strong interaction across communication platforms. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia believes that fan engagement is central to driving local and foreign fans and thus it allows female fans to enter Saudi stadiums. Also, for football enthusiasts who like to add an extra layer of excitement to their experience, Saudi Arabia started legalizing sports betting sites. Therefore, they have a very positive impact and constitute a push forward for the continued development of Saudi football and the Saudi Professional League.
The conversation moved to Fabio Martinez, the Gulf player, who spoke more about quality, stressing that the arrival of players to the Saudi League is no longer linked only to money, but rather to improvement and development with the presence of the most prominent international names with various competing teams and clubs, explaining that the size of the huge investment contributed to the doubling of demands and sacrifices. To reach the best possible level on the field in matches and during training.